Load stabilizer for brick fork trucks



C. H. SCHMIDGALL LOAD STABILIZER FOR BRICK FORK TRUCKS June 19, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8, 1949 June 19, 1951 c. H. SC HMIDGALL 2,557,395

LOAD STABILIZER FOR BRICK FORK TRUCKS Filed June 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 19, 1951 c. H. SCHMIDGALL 2,557,395

LOAD STABILIZER FOR BRICK FORK TRUCKS Filed June 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q31 1220191251: fii/l Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT" orncu;

LOAD STABILIZER EOR BRICK FORK TRUCKS Y can H; Schmidgall, Peoria,- Ill. Applicationlune 8', 1949', SerialNO. 97,830

This invention relates to. material handling equipment, particularly brick forks. i. the type. ordinarily mounted on a lift truck for handling. brick, tile, or similar materials. The invention is. specifically directed to the provision of an improved stabilizing device for steadying the load. as it is lifted and moved from place to place.

"It is a general aim of the invention to provide an improved stabilizing device adapted to engage the upper bricks of the stack as it is lifted" on the fork, to steady the stack and hold the individual bricks againstundue shifting. In pursuance of'thi's general'aim, it is a more specific objectof' the invention to provide a novel" and improved stabilizing device including a frame to extend along the upper edges of the stack with'novel and"improved'pressure contact devices to" engage the bricks in such a manner that they" are adequately held against shifting, irrespective of minor irregularities" in their dimensions or misalignments" existing between" their exposed surfaces.

A further object of the inventionis" the" provision of a-"- stabilizer as'indicated' above wherein the gripping devicecomprises a plurality ofpres sure members spaced fronr each" other" and illdividuallyspring compensate-d; so that each may automatically" advance into resilient contact 'with* the surface it engages together'with a flexible belt memberextending betweenthe pressure devices" to maintain substantially continuous corrtact between the stabilizer and 'all of "the'bricks'in" the uppermost row'at each edge of the stack:

- The manner inwhich these objects are accomplishedaccording tothe present teaching will be-best described in connection with the Figure 3 is a sectional'view of thestabilizer shown in Figure 1; the view being taken-sub stantially on theplaneof the-line. 3- -330i Fige ure'li; and" Figured isa detail Lelevational Vi'BW of 1 the end or; one of; the; stabilizer. beams;,the. View being; taken. at":- the: point indicated by. the. linesp 4-:-4-:

ofEigurefi: .Imcommercial handling-o1 materialss such as '4'olaims.. (c1. 214--65.2)

brick, it is'conventional practice to utilize a brick;

3 a chassis it having traction-wheels H; steering;

wheel 12; motor controls-l3; and-a-verticalpowerr hoist M on' whicha vertically shiftable: carriage. I5: is mounted. The brick-fork, generally desig nated as It, is mountedatithe: lower end: of the; lift carriage. The brick: fork may be of any: onev of several typeslas; for:'eXample, oneof. the; forks illustrated irrmyco-pending. applications; Ser. No.;.6!70,645'filed- May 157, 1946; now'Patent; No. 2,521,103, granted October 24,. 1950; and; Ser. No. 769,297EfiledAugustzl8, 1947, which cludea plurality ofiindividualitinesll. each hav ing. shiftable gripper portions. [8; so. thatstacksr of bricks? may beprepiared'z with apertures. Iss0: spaced that: the forks may be. inserted, under: the stack to gripvthe lowermost bricks: 285 and thus lift the: entire 1stack..

In some instances, particularly whenthe bricks: must be moved over rough ground or uneven surfaces, the tiltlngand. vibration of moving the; truck may tendto dislodge the uppermostbricks. from a high stack and-to thus; limit the: load: that may be carried to. something, considerably.- less than the actual lifting capacity; of theitrucb and its hoist. To avoid. this; the present-invent tion provides a stabilizing; device wh'i-ch inc'ludes a shiftable topframe having resilient pressure pads to engage the uppermost brickspf the: stack along its opposite edges, thus effecting a steady-'1 ing influenceon the stack.- and permitting; the: vehicle to be moved about -with little if. any ten-- dency. to. dislodge the bricks or. unduly tilt. the: stack.

As illustrated, in Figures land 2,v the stabilizer comprises a frame mounted ona pair of. arms" or levers 2|, each pivoted at the pointsv 22 and. 23 so that the outermost'ends of the armsmay; be raised or lowereduby relative verticallshifting. betweenthe vertical=frame members; 24 andx25 of the carriage oizthe: truck; This: movementuis: accomplished. byspower apparatus-1.conventionally: supplied to trucks. of this general design and forms no part: of. the. present. inventionexcepti to provide means for: raising and lowering: the? stabilizing. device here: disclosed.

The stabilizer itself consists ofia;.framerhavingi; a pair of opposite beams; 211', .each pivoted: on: as bolt or: rivet 28 carried. at the outerends of? one: of the arms 21. As: shown, these beams?! are? interconnected by;a.= cross; bar: 29:. extending: be tween them, The beams'ZI:areofchannelshape;

having a vertical web 21a with a top flange 21b and bottom flange 210. The flanges 21b and 210 may extend inwardly from the web as illustrated in the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 3, or may extend outwardly as in the slightly modified showing of Figure 2. In either case. the beams are provided with a plurality of pressure members, preferably in the form of flanged pulleys 3|, each of which is mounted on a rivet 32 extending through a forked yoke 34 welded or otherwise fixed to a vertically shiftable shaft 35 extending through aligned apertures in the upper flange 21b and lower flange 210 of the beam 21. The pulleys 3| are Spring urged downwardly by compression springs 36 telescoped over the shafts 35 between the flanges of the beam and arranged to bear against cotter pins 31 fixed in transverse bores through the shafts 35. The number and spacing of the pulleys 3| may be varied according to individual requirements, but satisfactory results have been obtained by the use of four or five of the pulleys on each of the beams, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. In any case, all of the individual pulleys below each beam are joined by a flexible belt 38 which, as shown, is of endless construction, having its lower span 38a extending below the pulleys and adapted to function as a pressure pad between the pulleys and the upper surfaces of the bricks, while the upper span 38b extends across the top of each of the pulleys immediately below the forked yoke 34. The belt 38 is preferably maintained in a condition of regulated tension, and to this end it has been found advisable to mount one of the end pulleys in a manner permitting endwise adjustment so that it may be moved inwardly or outwardly as desired. To this end, shiftable brackets 4| may be mounted between the flanges 21b and 210 of the beams 21, and vertical shafts 35a slidably mounted in aligned apertures in the flanges 4| a and M17 of these brackets, it being understood, of course, that the flanges 21b and 210 are slotted at 42 (Figure l) to permit inward or outward shifting of the vertical shafts 35a. Adjusting screws 43 may be mounted in fixed plates 44 to bear against the brackets 4| and move them outwardly to tighten the belts, and clamping bolts 45 may be mounted in the brackets to extend through slots 46 in the end of the beams in order to tighten the brackets to the beams in any desired position of tension.

1 B the teachings of this invention, which utilizes a novel combination of individually compensated shiftable pressure members spaced apart from each other yet joined by a flexible tension element extending between them, it is practicable to maintain substantially constant contact with all of the bricks along the uppermost edges at each side of the track, irrespective of minor misalignments and unevenness of their exposed surfaces. That is, the individual bricks l, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 51, (Figure 3) are all engaged by the lower span 38a of the belt and are thus each individually held against accidental displacement,

, notwithstanding the fact that the varying dimensions of these bricks and those below them in the stack may cause some of the upper row of bricks to project substantially higher than others. It follows that when the stabilizer is lowered to the full-line position of Figure 3, it will effectively engage all of the bricks along each edge of the stack and effectively prevent shifting or tottering of the stack as it is moved from place to place. To release the bricks and to engage another stack, the entire stabilizer frame is lifted to the dotted iii 4 line position of Figure 3, and at this time, since it is preferable to tilt the stabilizer upwardly, a tilting lug 41 on each of the arms 2| will engage the innermost end of the beam 21 adjacent to it so that as the arms 2| pivot upwardly the beams assume a similar angle.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by these teachings it is feasible to employ a brick fork in lifting and transporting stacks of bricks that are higher or are of less inherent stability than with previously known devices, and that the inherent difficulties of shifting these materials from place to place is correspondingly reduced. Also, by employing a stabilizer as here disclosed, it becomes feasible to utilize a lift truck and fork arrangement in locations wherein the rough or irregular material of the ground or floor surface has heretofore caused such tilting or vibration as to render the use of this type of equipment impractical.

By the present teachings the disadvantages of previous types of stabilizers are largely overcome since none of the bricks along either edge of the stack are ordinarily free to shift, irrespective of the height of the stack or its inherent instability, with the result that the material may be quickly and expeditiously moved from place to place with confidence that none of the bricks of the stack will be accidentally dislodged.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by United States Letters Patent is:

1. The combination, with a brick fork, of a load stabilizer comprising a pair of shiftable arms having a stabilizing frame pivoted thereon, said frame including a pair of opposite spaced-apart beams adapted to overlie the upper edges of a stack of brick held by the fork; each of said beams having a plurality of individually compensated spring loaded pressure members depending downwardly from the beam at points spaced apart along its length, each of said pressure members comprising a pulley at the lower end of a vertically slidable rod having a spring thereon to urge the pulley and rod downwardly against the stack; together with a tension member below each beam comprising an endless belt having an upper span extending across the top of each of the individual pulleys carried on said beam, and a lower span extending below each of said pulleys to directly engage the upper surfaces of the uppermost bricks in the stack.

2. The combination, with a brick fork, of a load stabilizer comprising a pair of shiftable arms having a stabilizing frame pivoted thereon, said frame adapted to overlie the upper edges of a stack of brick held by the fork and having a plurality of individually compensated spring loaded pressure members depending downwardly from the beam at points spaced apart along its length, together with a tension member comprising a flexible belt extending between said pressure members and adapted to directly engage the upper surfaces of the uppermost bricks in the stack.

3. The combination, with a brick fork, of a load stabilizer comprising a shiftable frame adapted to overlie the upper edges of a stack of brick held by the fork and having a plurality of individually compensated spring loaded pressure members depending downwardly from the beam at points spaced apart along its length, together with a tension member comprising a flexible belt extending between said pressure members and adapted 5 to directly engage the upper surfaces of the uppermost bricks in the stack.

4. In a load stabilizer for a brick fork, the combination of a stabilizing frame adapted to overlie the upper edges of a, stack of brick, a plurality of individually compensated spring loaded pressure members depending downwardly from the frame at points spaced apart from each other, each of said pressure members comprising a pulley carried by a vertically slidable rod, with a spring thereon to urge the pulley and rod downwardly against the stack, together with a tension member comprising an endless belt having an upper span extending across the top of the pulleys,

and a lower span extending below each of said 1 vary the spacing between the pulleys to regulate the tension on the belt.

CARL H. SCHMIDGALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,281,012 Sears Apr. 28, 1942 2,403,356 Francis July 2, 1946 2,468,055 Gibler Apr, 26, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 105,542 Great Britain Jan. 16, 1917 

